link

 

UTSA football now closer to scoring big touchdown

W. Scott Bailey

 

SBC Communications Inc. Senior VP John T. Montford is heading up a group of local leaders pushing for the addition of big-time college football at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). It is an effort that, to date, has been branded as a long-shot at best.

?

But Montford now gives the chances of fans rooting for Roadrunners football far greater odds and says the team could be part of a reborn Southwest Conference.

 

"I feel good about this," says Montford.

 

UTSA leaders have worked furiously on the academic front to transform the fast-growing school into a nationally recognized, top-level research institution. Behind the scenes, others have worked to impress upon some of those same individuals the role that football could play in raising UTSA's overall profile.

 

With some 26,000 students, UTSA is more than capable of supporting football, say pigskin proponents. UTSA Athletic Director Lynn Hickey will say little. But she does confirm that UTSA President Ricardo Romo has now agreed to green-light an independent study on the matter.

 

At the same time, Romo has appointed a 35-member Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Council made up of Texas business and educational leaders. That group is expected to seek out ways UTSA can enhance its athletics programs and facilities.

Step closer

 

Romo's concerns so far have been about the costs involved in starting a football program. But in a recent letter to Roadrunners boosters, Hickey states: "President Romo has agreed to allow UTSA and our Advisory Council to explore the feasibility of adding football."

 

Last August, Hickey -- who came to UTSA from football crazy Texas A&M -- told the Business Journal: "We need football. I want football."

 

She took some heat for her candor. But since that story, supporters have rallied behind the notion of UTSA football.

 

The next step will be a request for proposals for a consultant to handle the football study. That could happen soon, say school officials, who stress that no state or university funds will be used to conduct that study.

 

UTSA's office of the vice president of student affairs will oversee the study process. But Montford says he would like to have some input, as well.

 

In addition to considering football, the Advisory Council, as well as the athletic department, are expected to begin examining other long-term opportunities that could elevate UTSA's overall sports stature.

 

One possibility is a shift of UTSA's sports programs to a new Division I conference.

 

Montford says he is pushing for the rebirth of the old Southwest Conference, which was disbanded in 1995. He says that conference could include former members like Rice, Texas Christian, Southern Methodist and the University of Houston, as well as new members like the University of Texas at El Paso and Texas State.

 

"I think that is going to happen, and I don't want San Antonio to get left out," says Montford. "That would be a shame."

?

 

Currently, the Roadrunners are a member of the Southland Conference, which includes Texas State. Of the 11 member universities, six have football programs.

 

Lamar, Louisiana-Monroe and Southeastern Louisiana are three of the five that do not. But their respective enrollments are substantially lower than UTSA's.

 

"We're very supportive of football," says Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett. "We're a football conference. If (UTSA) is looking to play Division I football, we have a home for them."

Will it sell?

 

In addition to the cost factor, critics argue that UTSA may not have the kind of campus environment and student population to support a football program. Montford disagrees, and football proponents point out that -- in large part thanks to Romo's vision -- UTSA's commuter-school image is becoming a stigma of the past.

 

Says Romo, "A university balance is not just about classrooms and laboratories. Sports is a part of it. It's what a lot of students look for when choosing where to go."

 

At UTSA, one of the hottest merchandise items has been a T-shirt proclaiming: "UTSA Football -- Undefeated."

 

Says Montford, "Taking nothing away from the research side, the academic side, (football) would give the university a sense of identity. I think football is a huge part of the university experience."

 

UTSA coaches and some Advisory Council members are expected to visit athletic facilities at other Texas universities over the next several months. Roadrunners boosters say it could be the next step in the process of upgrading athletic facilities at San Antonio's largest university.

 

"We need to do the study," says Montford. "But I am positive that we are going to make this happen."

 

 

Interesting.

 

If this comes to fruitation, Louisiana Tech and Tulsa in the then suddenly western Western Athletic Conference might hop aboard. One reason why the former SWC failed was because they were lagging behind other majo conferences in broadcast contracts. The markets of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Tulsa and Shreveport would be a solid basis for a successful mid-major conference.

San Antonio has a school?

San Antonio has a school?

693827[/snapback]

 

 

 

yes dumbass.

 

 

 

 

we aint that small.

 

 

 

division I too.

division I too.

693832[/snapback]

 

 

FSU is division I too, nothing to be proud of. :plain

 

 

But seriously, Army is D-I. Bye was favored by 14 over them last year at one point.